Going to the Movies with a 17 Month Old

Hi J.,
I'm wondering why a baby less than 1 1/2 is watching full length movies at home. I know not everyone follows every recommendation, but in case you weren't aware, the American Academy of Pediatrics does not recommend television under 2 years, and at that age, only 30 minutes per day.
I would not take a less than 1 1/2 year old baby to a movie. There's no need to spend the money on that. The size of the screen and the noise may be scary. You might need to leave. The other thing to keep in mind is that even if it's a kiddie matinee, if you go and she is being distractive, you really need to leave because the other people there have paid to see a movie, not to listen to a baby/toddler yelling, etc. You just can't know ahead of time how she'll react or behave. Personally, I just can't see the need for it. My kids were 3 before they went to a movie.
Good luck.

J.,

the Island 16 in Holtsville used to have daytime movies for moms and little kids. The lights are half up and the volume is lower Call the theater and see if they still offer this! It's great!

this post makes me so sad. a child that young should not be watching a 1/2 hr of tv, let alone a full length movie! you really should stop the tv and movies all together. talk to your pediatrician about it, i'm sure they will tell you the same.

If your daughter can sit through a whole movie at home, she'll probably be fine if she wants to see it. The theater can be loud, so if she has problems with loud noises it could be an issue. We usually take our son to the first matinee on the weekend, which is generally less crowded and has a bunch of kids.

I started taking my son when he was 6 months old. I was a stay at home mom living in an area with no friends or family. My husband worked from 10am to 11pm. I would take him to a matinee. The local theater actually had a deal on Wednesday that if you bought your ticket your kids were free. It was a stay at home Mom movie special. I asked the pediatrician about it and he didn't have a problem with it. My son slept through most of the movie any way. But taking him at such a young age got him used to being there and I never had a problem with his behavior in the theater. He is 8 years old now. My 4 year old just learned how to behave in the theater because I didn't start taking her until she was 2! My 6 year old is the same as his brother. Always knew how to behave and loves the movies.

Some advice: Sneak in some gold fish crackers and a small cup. Keep refilling her a little at a time. That works to occupy them when they get a little bored. Do not go when she is exhausted and in need of a nap. You will end up having to leave before the end of the movie!lol

PS I didn't take them for them. I went for my sanity!!

Babies should not be attending a movie theater until age 3. In my book, they are babies until the age of three. Before turning 3 my sons did watch a few things at home; "The Snowman" a lovely cartoon with beautiful music that they'd almost always fall asleep watching as babies, and "The Jungle Book" Disney movie. But they also played with toys and walked around a lot while it was on. They'd glance at it, then play and walk around, etc. My oldest son was six the first time he went to the movie theater when my husband took him to see "Power Rangers" the movie. My younger son was four when his Grandma treated both my sons to Disney's "Hunchback of Notra Dame". My four year old watched it for a 1/2 hour before he suddenly fell asleep! LOL! I think I'd wait until age 3. The sound is too loud for babies anyway.
D. N.

I know you already decided but I wanted you to know I took my son to see WALL-E when he was 17 months old and it was great. We sat in the handicap area. There was at least 10 to 12 feet between me and my husband and he watched a lot of the movie and if he got bored he would run back and forth between us. He never caused a problem or disturbed anyone.
And as for the lady who said a child should never watch tv for that long, that's nice and everything but she must have a lot of time on her hands to keep her kid occupied. And there's nothing wrong with watching movies. They learn a lot from it, so make sure you pick a good movie, and it's very comforting for them to watch the same movie over and over 'cause they know what's going to happen next.

You would be better off to see a rental movie with her at home that 1) you can speak to her about what she sees: 2) she learns better with interaction: 3) she will feel more comfortable at home in stead of being scared when lights turn off at the theater; 4) she starts making noise annoying audience and you get embarrassed feeling sorry for your child; 5) the worse thing is that you have to take her to the bathroom where there is no baby changing station in the middle of the movie and come back to find out your seat is taken by another child.

If you really want to take her to a theater, then you buy ticket of the first show during weekday where there is no crowd, and get ready to leave whenever your child start feeling uneasy in the middle of the movie. With all these expectations that you don't mind wasting time, money, and having annoyance, then it may be worth while to experience it.

However, it is advised for children not to watch TV or movies for more than 2 hours a day and no more than 30 mins. for toddlers. Nowaday, more and more children get addicted to TV and video games that can easily affect their performance at school and behaviors where ever they go. Since your child favors cartoon characters, read her books with those cartoons. In this way, not only she will improve academically but will have much stronger bond with you.

Hi J.!

Yes, I think she is way too young to go to a theater. We didn't start taking our kids til they were at LEAST 3...and even at that age they were more than ready to go half way into the movie, and the potty breaks between the 2 kids made it so we missed much of the movie anyways.

Just to add my own (non-judgemental) 2 cents worth...Your daughter is a baby...just 18 months old...there are so many more ways for you to stimulate her, rather than allowing her to watch a full length movie...especially Shrek...at the very least get some Baby Einstein DVD's...she may garner at least some knowledge from them - especially if you sit with her and watch it...point to the tv, repeat words to her, hum the songs at other times during the day...but play lots and lots with her, and read, read, read!!! (I think the Pediatric Association recommends no tv for kids under 2 - talk to your pediatrician about it.)

Best wishes to you both.
J.

PS - I'm not suggesting for a minute that you aren't playing/reading with your child! No judgement!! Happy Holidays!

My son is 4 and he has a hard time with the noise level at the movie theatre, it's just much louder than at home, and we even have surround sound. Although he likes to go to the theatre, he admits that it's hard for him to sit still in the movie seat all that time...at home he can get up and move around if he wants. But my dtrs did fine at an earlier age at the theatre. I would just keep the issues of noise and seating in mind. Make sure if she doesn't like it, you won't be upset about leaving.

Mainstream movie theatres are very, very loud. Especially the children's movies. I would wait. It will not be as fun and you imagine. Wait as long as possible for this activity.

D.

Absolutely not old enough. Watching something at home
is completely different. Movie theaters are expensive
now and people want to watch the movie. If they have
to listen to a toddler, I can guarantee you, they will
not be happy. Wait a few more years.

Are you going for yourself or for her??!! I'm assuming she's not asking you to take her, and really - I see no reason why a 17 mo needs to see a movie. If you want to go see it, just leave her at home.

J.,
A movie would be TOO LOUD - the sound system is really almost too loud for adult ears. If you must bring her, have her wear ear protection. You can find some on Amazon, wish I had a link for you. That's where my friend found hers for her daughter to go to the hockey games.

Good Luck,
M.

I think it might be a little young...we didn't start taking our kids until they were 2 1/2 and even at that by the last 15 or 20 minutes they were asking if it was over yet, but the only way to find out is to try, as long as you realize that having to leave the movie in the middle is a strong possibility!! Good Luck!

What I would do when my daughter was younger was to bring her to the movies at an off time & sit up by the front because still to this day she likes to get up & walk in the aisle ahead of us. I don't think there's any age requirement with movies and the most important is that you enjoy yourselves.

I have a 24 month boy and i took him to see bolt. He really enjoyed the movie till bolt was on the screen . He was really engrossed in the movie for the first one hour but last half was a little tough but he made it.

Hi J.,

I attempted to take my 3 year old daughter to see "Curious George" at the theater and it was way too intense for her. Luckily it was a free show so I did not mind leaving shortly after the previews. I think it was the loud sound, huge screen, and overall intensity of the experience. In the movie people would see Curious George and scream and so that scared her. It was little things like that. The previews were a bit scary too. We will be sticking to holiday specials for preschool age kids for a while longer until she matures enough to handle G movies. Sometimes our local library shows preschool age movies as well.

the only problem with the movies is that it's usually really very loud and that can scare children

I think she's probably too young to get much out of it, and you will just end up irritated from having to run after her the whole time! It's different at home, where she is comfortable and knows exactly what to expect.

A new environment, like a movie theater, with all those people and fun seats to crawl over and under...I think it's probably gonna be a total circus!

Just took my almost 11 year-old grandson to see Bolt. He liked it; I was bored to tears. First of all, your little girl will have to wear 3-D glasses which she may not want to do and without them the movie will be blurry. I dozed off a few times during it. It's not one of the better Disney movies and I would definitely not recommend it for such a young child and it is not a learning experience as some good animated movies are.

Grandmother in Westchester

If you want to go for you, I'd say go for it. For her? I'd say forget it. I know for me it would be good for me to get out, but since she's always attached to my hip, I'd have to take her. But, to take her to a movie for her to see it -- I don't think its worth it. I took my 3 month old with us when we went to see some movie (i don't remember what it was). I nurse, so that kept her busy, and she didn't cry once :) My 5 friends that were with us were amazed she was so good :)

I don't see any issue with having kids see TV or movies. Mine loves the colors and I try to make any tv she sees educational (like einstein, yo gabba gabba, etc), and she gets plenty of hands-on time. I guess its personal preference! My SIL does not let her kids watch hardly any tv. We went to Disney World and she didn't know many of the characters before we went...but if she was allowed to watch more movies, then she would have known more of them. Good or bad? Who knows. My niece knows all the Disney characters, can recite a movies' lines after one watching, and is smart as a button....and watches tv in the background quite often. She's not even three yet and can read some words, knows the alphabet, knows numbers and is the smartest almost-3 year old I know. Take it for what it is worth....

Enjoy the movie :) (I want to see it as well, but in 3D....and I would NEVER take her to see that...I know she wouldn't want to wear the glasses, and wouldn't want her to see fuzzy images)

i say no for a bunch of reasons, nothing meant to offend, this is purely my opinion as a parent. first, she may not sit thru and get fussy, then what. you may be leaving 10 minutes into the movie and will be wasting alot of money. second, other people are paying alot of money to go to the movies, and the possible issues with a toddler arent fair to put on other people. third, movies are loud. fourth, previews of coming attractions are edited in certain ways that children dont understand and usually jump around and are too dramatic for a young child. fifth, the AAP recommends no TV or movies for children under 2, and even after 2, the amount of tv time should be minimal like 30 mins a day. there are many studies that suggest several negatives for children who watch television esp at such a young age. 6th, at this age, she cannot truley grasp the entire concept of a full length movies so it wont be appreciated as much by her.

now imo, this is the most important. without seeing the movie first yourself, you dont know the content and wont be sure if there may be a scene you dont think is appropriate. of course, everyone has different thresholds. i personally felt shrek had wayyyy too many adult themes and completely inappropriate for a toddler. it is rated PG, anything rated PG is not a good choice, it means its questionable, otherwise it would be rated G. BOLT is rated PG as well. although, i dont agree that children this young should be watching any shows, if you do choose to allow it, why not focus on more child oriented topics, like elmo, or dora. these shows you can allow your daughter to watch without worry.

society, actually marketing agencies, in general are pushing us to raise our kids to grow up way to soon. animated films are now geared towards parents. the movie makers realize if you play a movie that only appeals to children, there is less chance the parent(s) will attend or even bring their kid. once you appeal to both, there is a better chance the parent will bring their child in the first place. i personally think it is awful for filmmakers to make anything animated with PG ratings.